BradWesley123's Movie Journal- November 2014

DVD- 1hr. 36min.
First Viewing

Lucky Them is an incredibly slight film, but it's charming enough to coast on it's humor, music, and cast. Plus, the cameo at the end is surprising enough to give you a quick smirk.

DVD- 1hr. 44min.

DVD- 1hr. 37min.
First Viewing

While it does lean heavily on African American and hood stereotypes, Friday, for the most part, offsets these issues with solid humor, great casting, especially Chris Tucker in a breakout role, and an unending amount of energy.

Netflix- 1hr. 47min.

DVD- 2hrs. 4min.
First Viewing

Occasionally inspirational and highly well made, Million Dollar Arm is also, unfortunately, endlessly bland and cliched. I wish I could write more about this one, but there really isn't anything else I could say. It's just really unmemorable.

Blu-Ray- 1hr. 38min.
First Viewing

The Rock is always enough of a charismatic presence to make his movies watchable, but even he can't save this one. It's exceptionally well made, with some solid action, set, costumes, etc., but the plot is recycled from other, better period-action flicks. It's also pretty humorless, leading to an exceptionally bland picture. It's always watchable, but rarely inspired.

Stray Note: My negative reaction may have a lot to do with the fact that I fell asleep at least twice while watching it.

DVD- 1hr. 40min.
First Viewing

While it doesn't have the same verve or punch that the similar Elmore Leonard adaptation Jackie Brown (both have some the same characters) had, Life of Crime intermittently entertaining, thanks mainly due to it's strong cast. The plot is off though, running out of steam well before the end of it's 100 minute runtime. It also doesn't really differentiate itself from numerous similarly plotted film.

DVD- 1hr. 44min.
First Viewing

Rob the Mob is a fairly mixed bag. It's got a great, real-life story behind it, a couple of likable leads in Pitt and Arianda, with a solid cast behind them, and style that captures that captures the essence of the setting. It, however, also maintains a weird pace, with a tone that can never really decide with it wants to be more comedic or dramatic, though it excels in scenes when it does. Overall, it's a solid effort that never really reaches it's potential.

Netflix- 1hr. 34min.
First Viewing

So abrasive and hectic that many will, understandably, turn it off in it's opening minutes. Those who do continue with it would be treated to an offbeat action/comedy that rarely lets up throughout it's 94 minute runtime. It does get fairly scattered though, which is predictable given how much is going on in it, but it never takes away from the picture's manic charm.

DVD- 2hrs. 22min.

DVD- 1hr. 58min.
First Viewing

A totally dull "horror" movie that never really gets going. There's occasionally a decent scare or too, but there's nothing here that hasn't been done better in other horror movies. Just a genuine bore.

Netflix- 1hr. 36min.
First Viewing

A Long Way Down has a few good moments, almost entirely due to it's great cast, but it's the type of pandering, schmaltzy dramedy that tries to give the genre a bad name. It also total misses the boat on mental health problems, which here are easily curable with romance and plot contrivances.

DVD- 1hr. 28min.

DVD- 2hrs. 12min.
First Viewing

Ryan Murphy's direction does hit you over the head for most of The Normal Heart's runtime but, when he leaves it to the actors, it's an effecting drama that surprisingly resonates.

Netflix- 2hrs. 26min.

Netflix- 1hr. 40min.

DVD- 1hr. 21min.
First Viewing

A Merry Friggin' Christmas wastes it's very strong cast on a series of stupid jokes and unearned sentiment. Think of every holiday movie and modern R-rated cliche and you'll likely find most of them here.

DVD- 1hr. 55min.
First Viewing

Chef adds nothing new to the cinematic landscape, but it is a well made crowd-pleaser that's solid enough to skate by on it's charm alone.

DVD- 1hr. 38min.

VHS- 1hr. 26min.

DVD- 1hr. 37min.
First Viewing

There are a few solid touches here and there (it does have a very good visual sense about it) but, overall, The Giver is just too bland and predictable, and surprisingly recycled for being adapted from such an old book, to make much of an impact in the current wave of Y/A adaptations.

DVD- 1hr. 43min.
First Viewing

While still fairly clunky and highly susceptible to stupid plot twists, The Purge: Anarchy is a huge step up from it's awful predecessor thanks to a more focused plot, better characters, and some thrilling action. It's by no means perfect, I'm not even entirely sure that it's "good", but it's a solid step in the right direction for a franchise with a lot of potential.